DVDBeaver is Going Patreon

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by townsend, Dec 6, 2018.

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  1. townsend

    townsend Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    The title says it all: DVDBeaver.com - DVD Blu-ray all regions, reviews, comparisons, film

    I don't blame them for this move. Other sites that produce content have gone this route, it is a legitimate option. I won't be paying/migrating, only because my taste in movies differs too much with the usually fare on DVDBeaver. Nonetheless, DVDBeaver is one of the best review sites on the Internet.
     
    uzn007 likes this.
  2. It's harder than ever reviewing media because traffic is down for discussing Blu-rays, much less DVD. Traffic is moving towards 4K UHD. The proliferation of streaming will likely gut many of the familiar media sites in the next year or two. Patreon works for smaller sites that can't rely on Internet ads.
     
  3. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I was always told I'd have to pay for quality Beaver and I guess now it's true. :(
     
    Rhett, smilin ed, Texastoyz and 10 others like this.
  4. Patreon. I guess I learned a new word today.

    I hope that they use whatever money they get towards redesigning their web site - I tend to avoid them as it’s difficult to find anything/navigate.
     
    uzn007 and MikaelaArsenault like this.
  5. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    The site looks nice, but I’m steering clear of Patreon.
     
  6. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    If it helps, I know of some content producers on YouTube that live off of Patreon.
     
  7. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Never heard of Patreon but I'm not about to pay a monthly installment just to look at an occasional Blu-ray review and screenshots.

    Screenshots are mostly what I use that site for just to see if a restoration of an old movie or TV show series is worth the price. There's another competing site called Blu-ray.com that provides the same screenshots.
     
  8. Blu-ray.com just isn't reviewing a majority of releases anymore. Outside of the biggest blockbusters, very little niche fare is reviewed there anymore.
     
    IronWaffle, Robert C and townsend like this.
  9. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Yeah, I suspected as much.

    What Blu-rays are selling for is kind of on rocky grounds anyway. I haven't bought a lot of Blu-rays due to their expense and DVD's of the same movies played on my 32"Samsung HDtv look decent enough. But I found out yesterday when I checked the crazy price of $160 for the box set of all the Twilight Zone episodes on Blu-ray restored by Image Entertainment, Amazon has it for around $60 offered by Paramount. If it wasn't for the Amazon reviews I wouldn't have known it was the same exact box set offered by Image Entertainment.

    And then Walmart started selling Blu-rays for about $7 each in their grab bins. I mean first I thought I was getting a better picture with Blu-Ray only to find some DVD's of the same old movies look sharp and detailed enough. But I do have some DVD's that look like crap with thick sharpening edge halos like it was shot on a video camera.
     
  10. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    Black Friday had the complete bluray Image for 42 bucks. Sucked missing that one.

    As for comparing bluray.com to DVD Beaver yeah right. They miss so many details and will trash talk their forums in the reviews while putting up major spoilers....let alone actually interpreting their data like Beaver does (like checking errors or even knowing about original source material accuracy much less commeting on it with a brain). They will not take criticism at all. I have seen the trashed comments about other sites from the mods.

    The website is great for surface info and it is a freight train of information on sales...but niche titles that have substance and actually learning about a release....again yeah right.

    They still struggle with the Criterion Bull Durham truth.

    As for blurays themselves. Man Black Friday had primo titles for 7 bucks...I see this throughout the year constantly. I cannot justify DVD's when you have such great restorations going on constantly.

    Old TV shows...well yes, but film...never a better time.
     
    Robert C and Tim Lookingbill like this.
  11. AndrewS

    AndrewS Senior Member

    Location:
    S. Ontario, Canada
    This is disappointing, as I do use the site, occasionally.

    I seem to remember making a donation, but that must've been quite a few years ago.

    I would do something similar, but there's no chance I'm paying $50US a year to use the site.
     
  12. Plenty of screenshots and UHD/Blu-ray reviews can be found on DoBlu.:righton:

    http://doblu.com/
     
  13. AndrewS

    AndrewS Senior Member

    Location:
    S. Ontario, Canada
    It's easy enough to find reviews, but DVDBeaver is great for comparing different releases, in many ways.

    Audio, video, extras, technical specs, etc. are all compared, along with screenshots to do direct image comparison.

    It really is a handy site, which is why I contributed to it, previously. I've never seen another site that's as convenient. DVDcompare.net is handy, too, especially for features and checking weather a particular version has cuts, but is not the same as to DVDBeaver. In fact, it often links to DVDBeaver comparisons, when possible.
     
    genesim likes this.
  14. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Svet is at least partially responsible for that. His denigrating, and often inaccurate, reviews of anything that isn’t produced by Criterion has led to some boutique labels refusing to send Blu-ray.com screeners any longer.

    As for Beaver, Gary who runs the site is a nice guy, and I’m a long-time reader, but I’m not going to subscribe. I’ve had to tighten my belt a little this year, and, quite frankly, I’ve got better things to spend my money on, when I can get the same information for free elsewhere.
     
  15. OldSoul

    OldSoul Don't you hear the wind blowin'?

    Location:
    NYC
    Jesus, people, them setting up a Patreon account doesn't mean the site is going to be blocked to people who don't pay. It's just a donation.
     
  16. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    Exactly. I won't mind donating as I can. I would hate to see it go.

    To me there is a difference between not giving a stellar review and outright trashing a release because it is not your favorite genre.

    I know Gary has stuff he doesn't love, but respects the fans.

    With especially the 80's comedies etc...bluray.com is relentless..with spoilers! I mean for crying out loud. I have got to the point that I don't even read anything but technical data unless I have seen the movie.
     
  17. Matt Richardson

    Matt Richardson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suburban Chicago
    Same here. I donated a little cash a while ago but I don't use the site enough anymore to be a paid subscriber.

    I don't think the site is as valuable as it once was in the DVD era. Hey, if it's on blu-ray, chances are its going to be significantly better than the DVD (usually).

    I did email Gary Tooze a couple of times when I found faults with a release that wasn't brought up in his review. The first was with the colorized blu-ray of Plan 9 From Outer Space. I thought the film (and colorization!) looked great. But Legend Films totally bastardized one scene by inserting a picture of a guy on a wall (I guess they thought it was funny). Gary subsequently quoted my comments in his review.

    They other time, I emailed Gary to point out how bad Kino's second release of Buster Keaton's General was compared to their first release of the film (dark, not sharp, 2nd or 3rd generation look). I even attached my own comparative screen shots on the email. Gary responded and agreed, but no mention of Kino's 2nd release was ever put in his review (that I've seen).
     
  18. It's too bad they're saddled with a domain name of a format (DVD) that is last generation.
     
  19. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    I can't fault a guy for missing some details. I liked him paying attention to input. That is so awesome. This shows care as opposed to a head trip.

    I agree. Always sounded like a porno to me.
     
    longdist01 likes this.
  20. Matt Richardson

    Matt Richardson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suburban Chicago
    Actually he didn't miss the details I brought up, he just never reviewed Kino's 2nd release at all (and I'm not faulting him -I know you can't review everything).
     
    longdist01 and genesim like this.
  21. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    Sorry I misread.
     
    Matt Richardson likes this.
  22. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    I started a Patreon thread this past year asking if anyone is a patron and to whom. I was kind of shocked about how many people hadn't heard of it or how it works.
     
  23. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Their site design looks like it's stuck in the 90s, so maybe they're going for some sort of retro experience.
     
    longdist01 and Shawn like this.
  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I know how that feels! :sigh:
     
    the pope ondine likes this.
  25. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I give to several sites and content creators. Ever since the demise of Video Watchdog, there just isn't any really good place to go for detailed reviews of or articles on genre titles. Beaver's $4 tier isn't too bad - I know they're out there but I frequently forget to check for updates.
     
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